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The Best Type of Exercise to Help You Burn More Fat

When it comes to their bodies, most people have a trouble area. The tendency can be to go researching moves that target that area and then go hard core and blast that one muscle group. Example: someone who hates their muffin top poking out of their jeans starts doing hundreds of crunches. Front ways, side ways… all ways!

So, does this approach work?

When it comes to trouble areas, the first thing to understand is the “trouble” is mostly the FAT on TOP of that area. If your arms jiggle when you wave, it’s the fat waving back. If your butt bounces when you walk, it’s the fat that’s trembling behind you. So, spot training that area will tighten the muscle BUT it will only tone the muscle UNDER that same fat unless you find a way to blast the fat off!

Enter, compound exercises.

By definition, compound exercises are exercises that use more than one muscle group at the same time. You can take it a step further and also add in the full body aspect in order to maximize fat burn. This is my personal favorite way to work out.

You cannot “spot burn” fat. It’s just a fact. Understanding that fat burns evenly over your entire body is critical. Imagine a swimming pool with a deep end. You can’t go to the deep end only and empty it. You must drain the entire pool at once. What happens as the water nears its end? The deep end is still holding a bit of water while the rest of the pool is not. This represents your trouble spot. It’s your ‘deep end’ of fat. It will be the last to go. Sorry to be the bearer of that news, but truth is freedom.

So, as you lose your muffin top, you are also losing back fat, butt fat, leg fat, and arm fat. Whichever is the shallowest will look leaner first and whichever is the most covered by fat will be the last to show the desired results.

Good news: compound and full body moves speed up this process!

Some of my favorite compound moves and the body parts they work are:

ExerciseMain Body Parts Worked

Burpees Arms, back, abs, butt, legs

Mountain climbers Shoulders, abs, legs

Push ups Chest, shoulder, tricep, abs

Plank and all plank variations Arms, abs, legs

Donkey kicks (both feet thrust in air) Butt, abs, arms, back

Squats and squat jumps Legs, butt, abs

Tricep dips on coffee table Tricep, shoulder

V ups Abs, legs

As you can see, most of these work even more than two parts of the body at once. The more body parts you work simultaneously, the faster you will get results. Note that the more body parts you combine into one, the higher your heart rate will go and the more winded you’ll feel. This is your heart working really hard to help you burn fat.

This is good news for busy people because it means you can work out for LESS time and often get even better results than you were before. Yep: less CAN be more!

We have a saying in our business: “You don’t need more time you need more intensity.”

Here’s a great nine-minute fat blaster to try at home:

Perform each exercise for one minute each (take short breaks as needed during the minute):

Squat jumps

Push ups

Donkey kicks (thrust both feet up in air behind you. One leg is ok too.)

Plank jacks

Burpees

Mountain climbers

Plank hold

Tricep dips on coffee table or couch (the farther your feet are from your body, the harder)

V ups (try to raise both legs simultaneously. If you need to modify, one leg at a time is ok, too!)

This can be done anywhere. Home, office, hotel. No excuses and no equipment needed!

I hope this helps dispel any myths about spot-toning and also encourages you to get your full body involved and get in the best shape of your life!

Heather Hudson has been with 9Round since inception in 2008 and is COO and Co-Founder of 9Round Franchising. She is a black belt in Shotokan Karate and grew up with a passion for fitness and overall wellness.